What you don’t say

Someday soon, I will retire from weekly editorial writing. I can’t say I will never ever write future Gantt Report columns because God gave me the gift of writing the truth in a way that could be understood and appreciated by the masses and my destiny requires that I use the gift given to me.

But don’t worry editors, publishers, internet hosts and faithful readers and supporters The Gantt Report will be around and available even after God calls me home to The Land of Plenty! I will explain that in future TGRs.

One of the things I want to do at this point in life is to help young people become world class writers and reporters.

I want to create a media foundation that will teach middle school and high school students interested in journalism and communications how to be true to the media game, so to speak.

Nowadays, when students get to college and decide they want a career in media they don’t know how to do a damn thing! They don’t know how to write, they don’t know how to produce, they don’t know how to edit, they don’t know how to manage, they don’t know how to direct and they know nothing about generating or selling advertising for media companies.

If young people can learn the media basics at a very early age, when they get to colleges and universities they will already know the media paths they want to take and they can concentrate and focus on the media skills that they want to excel in.

They will also have sufficient experience in writing, reporting, broadcasting, composition, etc. that will enable them to get media jobs on campus and/or in the community.

You would be surprised at how many college journalism students contact media owners and media companies seeking “paid internships”. When they come to me seeking a “paid internship” I ask them what can they do and they reply, “Nothing. I am in school learning!”

If you don’t know anything, what were you doing in school for three or four years and why won’t you volunteer at a Black or non-Black media company to get the experience, track record and skills you desire?

Most Black media companies cannot afford to pay people to get coffee, file papers or to watch hard working media employees.

Anyway, I believe we need good Black journalists these days because the people of color that have jobs on TV networks, at white papers and in major news operations are a disgrace to their race!

I know you don’t like for me to write like this but it’s true!

When I educated students at Florida State University the main thing I told them was to “get the facts”!

Do you ever wonder why most news stories only tell one side of the story; mainly quote the authorities like law enforcers and never dig deep to get to the bottom of issues?

It is because today’s journalists don’t seek out the truth; they rush to report the sensational, they comfort in parroting their media competitors and they try to save their jobs or prolong their careers by allowing themselves to be controlled!

You see, the Black journalists that you love didn’t get their jobs because they were crack journalists, top notch investigative reporters, brave broadcasters or truth finders.

They win Pulitzer Prizes, ESPY Awards, Ohio State Awards and other media recognitions because they write and report on what white media moguls, news editors, broadcast producers and what other media bosses demand that they write and report about!

Let me explain. Black America and white America should be reported, broadcasted and editorialized the same way. The news slant that is acceptable for the goose should be acceptable for the gander!

For true journalists, what you don’t say is just as important, significant and meaningful as what you do say.

I don’t care if you write or report bad things about Black businesses, Black neighborhoods, Black churches, Black schools, Black artists and entertainers, Black athletes or Black nations as long as you tell the truth and use the same fervor to report about bad things that whites, Hispanics and others do!

Every time a newsman mentions Eddie Long or Michael Vick or O. J. Simpson, before the second minute or second paragraph you hear about what the Black man or woman was accused of or convicted of.

No one mentions anything about gay politicians that lie about their sexual preference over and over again. No one talks about white athletes that make racial slurs or have been accused of multiple sexual assaults. No one talks about white preachers that have been accused or found guilty of misconduct every time their names are mentioned in the news! Negro journalists can’t go to sleep and dream about reporting something negative about a Jewish person if they want to keep their jobs.

The first Black journalists were radical, militant or even revolutionary. The Black Press was created so that Black people could express their views and plead their own cause!

The North Star, Freedom’s Journal, The Black World and even the Pittsburg Courier and the original Chicago Defender and Atlanta World did not hesitate to speak out about what was happening to Black people in Black communities!

Today, the only thing you hear about Black community news from the journalists you love is what the Negro reporters hear their white coworkers talk about at the lunch table or in the break room!

I pray that you will support me in my effort to educate and train future Black media professionals. Support this effort with both time and money.

If you like The Gantt Report, help me help the next writers and reporters! God knows our community will need them!